This Week

Saturday, October 27, 2012 - 12:01 am

Picks for FWCS, county offices

Fort Wayne Community Schools has a lot on its plate these days, and the school board’s job is only going to become more complicated. For that reason, continuity and consistency are important, so we recommend incumbent board member Becky Hill in District. 3. The board also needs dissent to ensure that new issues with impact get the discussion they deserve. So in District 2, we recommend Glenna Jehl, a conservative’s conservative.

For the Allen County Board of Commissioners, we recommend two-term GOP incumbent Nelson Peters, who wants to make a big push for regional cooperation. For County Council, we suggest: Republican incumbent Roy Buskirk, a watchdog for taxpayers; former GOP Commissioner Bill Brown, with extensive knowledge of government; and Democrat Gina Burgess, enthusiastic and articulate.

Monday

Choices for state offices

Our choices for the General Assembly:

State Senate, District 16: Incumbent Republican David Long, a very effective speaker pro-tem.

State House, District 81: Incumbent Democrat Win Moses.

State House, District 82: Republican David Ober over Democrat Mike Wilber.

State House District 83: Incumbent Republican Kathy Heuer.

State House District 84: Democrat Lee Jordan over incumbent Republican Bob Morris, whose Girl Scout comments caused his own party to all but disown him.

State House District 85: Incumbent Republican Phyllis Pond.

The statewide positions of attorney general and superintendent of public instruction should be appointive rather than elective. Given that, there’s no reason to make a change from incumbents Greg Zoeller and Tony Bennett.

Tuesday

Mike Pence for governor's office

In his eight years in office, Gov. Mitch Daniels has been both visionary and effective, two traits that don’t always go together. Republican Mike Pence would continue the philosophy and practices of Daniels, and Democrat John Gregg would not. That makes the governor’s race an easy call – choose Pence and we will have the same kind of good news for the state we’ve had for the last eight years.

That will mean, among other things, a prudent fiscal conservatism that balances the state budget, keeps enough money available for the essentials and doesn’t squander the taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. It will mean looking for innovative ways to provide those services. It will mean continuing to make Indiana the most business-friendly state in the union. It will mean continuing the education reforms that will give all Hoosier children a boost.

Wednesday

These two for Senate, House

GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock has caught grief since the primary for being such an extremist partisan zealot who will never compromise. In fact, it’s generally accepted that his hard line is why he’s in such a close race with Democratic contender Joe Donnelly, that moderate, flexible fellow who is willing to compromise and work with everybody, when every other Republican in a statewide race has a comfortable lead.

The thing is, though, is that Mourdock is exactly right. What he has stressed, over and over, is that one should never violate one’s core principles when asked to compromise.

First-term 3rd District Republican U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman has been both a diligent representative of this part of Indiana and an emerging conservative voice. The need to choose him over Democratic challenger Kevin Boyd is obvious.

Thursday

Send Romney to rescue country

It hardly seems necessary to list all the ways the Obama presidency has failed. It is sufficient to say the president ignored the nation’s most pressing problems – the monstrous federal debt and the disastrous economy – and chose instead to doggedly pursue his progressive agenda to remake America. If building a new society requires destroying the old one first, it is clear that Obama is halfway there. Heaven help us all if we don’t kick him out of office before he has a chance to finish the job.

Mitt Romney did not at first seem a likely hero able to rescue the country from Obama’s breathtaking mixture of arrogance and incompetence. But as the campaign season has worn on, Romney has found his voice and crafted an agenda in marked contrast to Obama’s, articulating the policies desperately needed by this country.